Meant to Be
by Poetic.blue
Summary: What if there had been more to Carly's speech at the end of iLove You?  Rated T for the end, and because I'm paranoid. Ship: Seddie RR   2nd place winner of the iCarly 'What If' Story Challenge


**Hola! **

**I am participating in a challenge about what if something different happened? Mine is: What if Carly's speech toward the end of iLove You had been longer?**

**Because this is part of a challenge, there shall be voting! So please, if you think my story is awesome, go to ****TheWrtrInMe 's profile and vote in the poll! Voting closes Saturday at midnight, fyi.**

**Disclaimer: iCarly isn't mine, I just use it to speculate.**

**Without further ado….**

"…trying to force something creepy and unnatural into a boyfriend girlfriend relationship." Carly was saying it to Spencer and his girlfriend, but it hit Sam and Freddie harder. Were _they _creepy and unnatural? Sometimes it seemed like it. He sighed quietly, but she could hear it. Her shoulders slumped. He understood it too. They began to turn away, to go back upstairs, but Carly wasn't done.

"I mean honestly. If you don't want to break up because this is disturbing, do it for me. I really can't take another weird couple. I've already got Sam and Freddie to take care of. I don't need you guys too." she sat on the edge of the table, propping her elbows on her knees, and dropping her head in her hands. "Although, with them there's at least incentive for me to keep them happy. They belong together. But you guys? It's just weird." she sighed, "I'm sorry; I don't mean to be judgmental. I'm just….tired, you know?

"Yeah, I guess you're kinda right." Spencer began, but Sam and Freddie had stopped listening, heading back upstairs. They were silent as they climbed each step, both thinking. Did they really belong together? Carly seemed to think so. She'd said so herself, even though she didn't know they were listening. But did they really? They were so different, fought so much. Could that really work?

Her parents hadn't. Her mother had been the wild one, crazy herself with an even crazier family. Her father had been more level headed- usually. But Pam brought that side out of him, the one that screamed and said awful things and sometimes pushed him to drink. And sometimes pushed him into the arms of another woman- or, more accurate, women. Sam knew about that, although she had never told anyone. It was Pam, the psycho, that had convinced him to leave, thinking perhaps the yelling and drinking and fighting wasn't a good environment for two eight year olds. So he took off, not even realizing what he was leaving behind. When she was young, she thought Mommies and Daddies belong together. And so they tried. But it didn't work, even though they supposedly 'belonged together. What if that were to happen to her and Freddie? She didn't think she'd be able to deal with that.

His parents had, according to everyone around them, belonged together as well. But fate had had a different opinion. Freddie was only ten when his father passed away. His mother had cried a lot, and started drinking. It had been so hard for him too. His father had been the spontaneous one in his life, whisking them away on weekend trips without so much as a reservation until they were two miles from the hotel. Back then his mother laughed at things like that, smiled and told Freddie how crazy his father was. But she always went along with his plans, or rather, the thereof. But then a heart attack took him much too early.

So maybe 'meant to be' and 'belonged together' didn't really mean anything.

They had made it upstairs without a word, each walking quietly to their own beanbag, he chose blue, and she chose yellow. They sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Their minds were both occupied by the same internal debate, ironically whether or not the differences were big enough to warrant an end. They both thought it through logically, coming to the same conclusion. They did.

However, their hearts fought back, trying to persuade their brains that logic didn't matter, emotions did.

His heart screamed at him, they loved each other for God's sake. Couldn't that overcome anything? Wait, no. _he _loved _her. _That's all he could be sure of.

Her heart pleaded with her brain. Think of all they had gone through. Did she want to throw all of that away? Besides, the loved each other, wasn't that enough? Wait, no. _She _loved _him. _That's all she could be sure of.

How could they have known they _were _head over heels for each other? How could they know how reluctant the other was? They could only work with the information known to be fact. And that's why they reached a tentative decision to break up. Separately.

He cleared his throat, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"You uh, you wanna get something to eat?" He still sat in his beanbag chair, awaiting her answer.

"Sure." her voice was quiet. "BF Wangs just got a drive through, right? So it's open twenty four seven?"

"Yeah, I think."

They were both quiet as he stood up. She stayed put.

Hey, Fredface. Come here and help me up." she held up one arm.

He rolled his eyes, but helped her anyway. As he hauled her up, he pulled her close to him, hugging her tight. Her arms automatically found their way to his neck; it was a force of habit. She sighed, prompting him to speak.

"She wasn't talking about us. At least, not at first." They pulled back, but her wrists remained on his shoulders, and his hands stayed on her waist. "And when she did, she said we're mean to be."

She sighed again, leaning her head on his chest. "But what if that doesn't mean anything? What if those are just words designed to make us believe in this so that when it falls apart, it'll hurt more." she closed her eyes. "Maybe…maybe now it would hurt less."

"Maybe."

They were quiet, wrapped up in their own thoughts

"So…" he broke the silence. " Are we breaking up?"

She said nothing, wrestling herself.

"No" her heart blurted out.

"No?"

"I love you." she said it first, and this time, it wasn't just her heart. It was her brain too.

"I love you too." a broad smile began to spread across his face.

"Man, how stupid are we? Do you realize what we almost did? She was laughing now, relief coating her from head to toe.

"Right?" he couldn't believe how deliriously happy he was. Carefully, he took her face in his hands, slowly running his hands through her hair. He kissed her softly, and this time it was different. He wasn't kissing _Sam, _and he wasn't just kissing his girlfriend, but he was kissing the girl he loved, and she loved him too. They pulled apart, foreheads still touching. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too." she whispered back, kissing him again.

He pulled away, but kept one arm around her waist. "So. Back to the original conversation. You wanna go get something to eat?"

"I'm uh... I'm not hungry." she said with a smile, meaning way more than she said.

"Sam Puckett? Not hungry? Am I dreaming?" he feigned shock, grinning widely.

"Oh shut up, nub, or else."

"Or else what?

"Or else this!" she spun him around and shoved gum into the beanbag chair she'd been sitting in. She fell on top of him, hard, but he only laughed.

"Such a punishment." he chuckled, bringing his lips to hers. The moment changed, from playful, to much more serious. The kisses deepened, and they twisted so she was sitting on his lap, but his lips were still coming down to meet hers.

"Oh my God!" A shriek interrupted them.

Sam wiped one corner of her mouth with a finger, leaving her other arm around her boyfriend's neck. "Oh, hey Carls."

"What are you guys _doing? In my house!"_

"Well, when I guy and girl love each other very much…" Sam began with a laugh.

"_SAM! _That's not what I meant!"

"Sorry Carls." Freddie apologized for them both, although he was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Wait a second…Did you say love each other…" Carly trailed off, realizing what it meant. "You guys said I love you?" her squeamishness was gone. The couple only smiled. "Aww! I knew it! I knew you guys were meant to be."

Sam climbed off of his lap and stood up. "Yeah, yeah. Hey, Frednub, what happened to that food you were talking about?"

"It's eleven o'clock at night." Carly interjected, receiving 'So?' looks from both Sam and Freddie.

He stood up, following his girlfriend out the door, carefully catching her hand in his. "I thought you said you weren't hungry."

"I'm not" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Then why…" then it sunk in. "Ohh!" He grinned again.

"Yeah." she laughed.

They took the stairs again, but in a much better mood, and hand in hand.


End file.
